CHAPTER 5:
That night at the gathering, Jerald and Edna were the first to arrive. They seemed as though they were looking for someone. They kept looking in all directions.

Soon after they arrived, the other participants reached the location of the gathering. Minutes passed, yet Zana and Shaun were not there. Zana came after 15 minutes, she arrived late due to her dilemma whether to go or not. Now, it was left with Shaun. Was he going to come? Is Shaun going to come, thought Edna. Why was he not here thought Zana. She felt uneasy. Was he not there because he could not get over the break up or was he just trying to avoid her? She was about to leave when Shaun arrived. He seemed lethargic. Zana suddenly felt relief. Maybe he was not trying to avoid her after all. Maybe he was just busy.

Jerald was thinking if he should confess to Zana. If he confessed, will he be rejected? Rejection was a big deal to face. He was afraid he could not take the pain, but if he was going to get rejected, shouldn't he face it sooner rather than getting hurt later on and the scar would be deeper. After all, it was not his style to keep things bottled up. He knew he had to confess. He approached Zana and pulled her to a corner. He plucked up his courage and cleared his throat, his hands were clammy and sweaty. He stammered, "Zana... I think..."
She looked really confused, should I tell her thought Jerald. It's sooner or later, he continued, "I like you... Zana." She looked straight at at him and for a moment, she blanked out. Zana was just speechless. She regained herself and she looked really lost. Zana did not want to break Jerald's heart but she just could not bring herself to accept him. She replied with a shaky voice, " I... can't accept your love. I'm so sorry." Jerald asked why. She said, "I think... I am in love with someone else. I'm... I'm not sure." Jerald felt as if his world crashed but he anticipated this. For the one he loved, he would do anything. He asked who but Zana did not reveal. Jerald knew that he would persevere to make her happy and she sure did not look happy, but maybe if he waited long enough she would accept him.

They went back to the gathering and everyone was chit chatting. Jerald observed Zana to find out who she liked and why was it affecting her. He noticed the way she looked at Shaun. Edna could not stop staring at Shaun too, she just felt so infatuated with him. She knew she was not going to let her guard down and allow Zana to be with Shaun. Zana saw that Shaun was so quiet while everyone was having fun and laughing about practically everything. He just wasn't who he used to be. Slowly, Zana realised her feelings for him. How could she love him? Edna likes him too. Would she give him up for her? She would, if it makes him happy. She just wanted to lift all his worries and pain from him. If only she could, if only...
Edna just stare dreamily at Shaun and she knew she would not get sick of it. Edna asked Shaun why he seemed moodier than usual. Zana thought: she finally realised that. Jerald was curious too, maybe what was affecting Zana was this secret and he just knew that Zana knew what was the secret. Shaun just shook his head and said, "Sorry Edna. I would just not like to talk about it."
At the end of the gathering, everyone bade farewell. Edna was disappointed that the Shaun who was in the camp was not the easy-going one anymore. Jerald asked Zana a question before she left. Jerald questioned, "You like Shaun, don't you? I can..."Jerald could not bring himself to say it, more than he wanted to be with Zana, he wanted her to be happy. He continued, "I can bring you two together if you would bother to share what is wrong." Zana thought hard if she could tell the secret. She asked Shaun if she could and Shaun just replied "Just say if it makes you less burdened." She told the whole story to Jerald.